Developing apparatus



May6,1930. 4A.LmqGsnm-.R n K n 1,757,672

' DEVELOPING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 20, 1928 Patented May 6, 1930 UNITEDsrxrESA PATENT orricea l AnoLPH IIANGSNER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,ASSIGNOR TOiEUGEN DIETZGEN GOMH PANY,`OF CHICAGO', ILLINOISVACOBPOIRATIONVOF Il')IEJIAWAIBIII!!v DEVELOPING APPARATUS Application ledFebruary 20, 1928. Serial No. 255,636. .e

10 the light sensitive material without subjecting the operator to theobjectionable action of the developing gas.

Still another object of my invention resides in providing a cabinet typeof machine into 15 which the light sensitive material may be manuallyplaced by the attendant and whereinthe cabinet is provided with acontainer for a liquid adapted to give off the developing gas such asammonia and wherein such conzo tainer is provided with a closing meansadapted to be controlled from the outside of the casing So that when thecabinet is opened to inf sert or withdraw the light sensitive material,the openings in the container through which the developing gases escapemay be closed before time so as to prevent the escape of gas.

Still another object of my invention resides in the novel type ofshutter or closure for the Y container holding the liquid developingmedium giving oil the developing as and the manner in which it iscontrolled rom without the cabinet.

Yet another object of my inventien resides in the arrangement ofthebasket or holder for the light sensitive material and the manner ofsuspending it above the container for the gas within the cabinet.

Still a further .feature of my invention resides in the slidable shutteror blanket for enclosing the retainer tank within the cabinet whichblanket, if` desired, may be perforated for the passage of the'developing gas therethrough and to close the openings in the liquidcontainer in another position.

A further feature resides in the provision of a relatively flat tank forcontainingthe liquid developing means and a flexible shutter or top forthis' tank adaptedto open or close the top of the tank to permit theescape of the gas or shut it oil completely and which tank is maderelatively shallow to permit ample room for the'location and operationcf aswingagle basket disposed at the top of the developing cabinet andnormally moved to such position wheneby the 'developing' gas whenrising, cornes into eiective action with the light sensitive materialcontained in the basket and Y whereby the basket maybe lowered to apoint well below the top portion ofthe cabinet and to a point'oppositethe opening in the cabinet from which position the li ht sensitiveAmaterial from the basket may e withdrawn.

These and other objects of -m invention will be apparent from a perusalo the followingspecilcation when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a side sectional view of the preferred form of my device;and

Figure 2 is a partial and similar sectional view`showing thealteredposition of the clos-r` ing member for the tank., containing thede-V veloping liquid.

In general, the present form of my ap' paratus comprises a cabinet madeofsubst-an tially gas-tight construction and is prefer`V abl providedintermediate its height at one en with a door through which theattendant may insert or withdraw light sensitive material such as a rollor sheet of paper into a basket or other holder contained in thecabinet. The basket is mounted in the cabinet and constructed andarranged so as to be ncrlmally projected at the very top portion of thekcabinet and held there so that the dew veloping gas within the cabinetwhich rises t naturally to the top of the cabinet willhave free accessto the light sensitive material to develop it. In addition, the cabinetcontains at the bottom, a relatively shallow tank extending the fulllength of the'cabinet and ofthe basket and which is formed at the top topermit the escape of a suitable developing gaseous medium from the'tankinto the cabinet. This tank contains a connection to a point outsideofthe cabinet so that' the tank may be illedand emptied withoutotherwise opening thecabinet. In addition, the cab-` inetcontains apreferably flexible shutter or closure which extends over vthe top ofthe tank. This flexible shutter winds and unwinds upon two oppositelydisposed shafts. one located at each end oft` e tank and manuallyoperable. This shutter is provided at a certain zone of its length withopenings which 5 when translated to predetermined position over the tankpermit the gas generated from the liquid therein to pass through saidopenings and rise upwardly into the cabinet. Anot er portion of thisshutter or closure is wholly imperforate so that when this portion comesacross and over the top of the tank, it will seal the tank against theescape of the .gases therefrom. In the illustrated embodiment of myinvention, the tank is provided with a perforated coverl and a flexibleor shiftable member is provided .with correspondingly formedperforations and correspondingly formed imperforate portions whichareadapted to register or not register with the p'erforation's of the tankwhereby to open and close the tank. Of course the top .of the containermay be' formed with a single large opening in its cover, butI prefer toform the cover with a plurality of perforationsas illustrated in orderto get amore uniform distribution of thegas in the chamber. I alsoprovide suitable means for turning the shafts 18 and 20 which ma be ofany convenient orl suitable form. Ior in- 3o stance, the shafts may beprovided with manually Operable handles so that the shutter may be moved'in either direction or one of the shafts may be rovided `with a coilspring which normally winds the shaft in one direc- 35 tion while theother shaftis provided with a manually operable handle for unwin'dingthe shutter against the tension of the coil spring, locking means beingprovided for holdin-g'the handle in such position so that 40 thevshutter may be wound from the spring controlled shaft onto the manuallyoperable shaft and, when the handle is released, the coil spring willreturn the shutter to original position woundup on the shaft. Varioussimilar arrangements are Within the contemplas tion of my invention. i

Referring now tothe drawings in detail,

my developing apparatus comprises a closed cabinet 2. In the presentinstance, this is shown -as a somewhat rectangularly shaped cabinet andif formed of any type of material that will resist the corrosive actionof the chemically active gas such for instance as ammonia gas.v- At thebottom of the cabinet, I mount a tank 4 adapted to contain liquidammonia, for instance, which is" adapted to give oil ammonia gas for thedeveloping operav tion. It ymust be apparent that any type of' liquid ormaterial forgiving off chemically active gas Yfor. developing purposesis within the contemplation ofy my invention. This tank is adapted to befilled by means of a pipe 6 passing throughthe side wall of the cabinet2 and connected to the *flexible-filling 05 and discharge tube 8, theupper end of which is held in upright position between the furcations ofbracket lO.- The end of this tube 8 is closed by acork or stopper 12. Asshown in the form illustrated, the tank is provided with a top 14 havingalong its entire length,`

` sage of the gas evolved from liquid ammonia in the tank unless suchpassages 16 are closed.

One of the features of my present invention relsidesin providing a verycompactly arranged means for closing the top of the tank so that the asmay not escape from the tank into the ca inet and the means hereinprovided is particularly constructed so that it can be operated from apoint outside of the cabinet and so that it will not takeup anunnecessary amount of room within the cabinet but on the other hand willpermit of sufficient room above the tank or pan so that the basket orother holder for the light sensitive material may be convenientlylowered to a point immediately above the tank and well below the top ofthe cabinet so as to prevent the escape through the opening of the lightsensitive material which has risen to the to of the cabinet. To -thisend, I provide two s afts 18 and 20, each mounted in one-end of the tankand mounted in suitable bearings in either the wall of thev 'upon them aflexible shutter or closure for the top ofthe tank'and the arrangementis such that when the two shafts are turned in one direction, theflexible shutter will` be wound from olf 'one of the shafts onto theother and vice versa.` The flexible shutter in the present instance,consists of a relatively long 'strip of material which is not subject tothe corrosive action of the ammonia as such for instance as felt orrubber, or in act any other type of flexible material.' This blanket orshutter or closure member 30 is formed for a portion of its length,preferably consider` ably longer than the length of the tank top 14,with an imperforate portion and in addition, another and equal 'lengthof the blanket 30 is provided with lperforations 32 which are adapted,as shownin Figure 1, to register with the" perforations 16 at the topofthe tank in the position shown in Figure 1 to permit the gas to passthrough both of the registering perforations and upwardly intoV thecabinet.Y On the other hand, when the handle Z8 is turned so as to windthe blanket or shutter ontothe shaft 18, thenl the imperforate portionof the shutter 30 will be drawn over the openings 16 of the tank andwillcloseA the tank. It will be manifest that instead Qf having the sprocketarrangement, the same action may be accomplished by other suitable meanssuch asby providing two handles or may be accomplished by providing asingle other shaft, arranged so that when the handle is operated theshaft thereof will be wound against the tension of the coil spring onthe other shaft and when released, the coil spring will operate tounwind the blanket from one shaft and wind it upon the other, a suitablestop being provided for holding the handle in desired position.

By thus providing a very shallow or flat pan for the developing liquidand providing the pan with a cover of the nature described, it isevident that I am enabled to provide a relatively large space abovethepan within the cabinet in which the work basket carrying the lightsensitive material may be shifted so as to permit the basket to beraised and lowered to and from a position at the top of the cabinetwhere the developing gases collect and to and from a lowered positionsubstantially adjacent and over the top of the pan and opposite a dooror opening inthe side wall of the cabinetconsiderably below the top ofthe cabinet where access may be had to the work holder for removing orinserting the light sensitive material.

It will be evident that by arranging the door considerably below the topof the cabinet, the escape of the gases which have risen to` the top ismore or less prevented. In the construction shown, the work holderpreferably takes the form of an open mesh or wire basket 34 oftanydesired construction but preferably shallow, and extending the lengthand width of the cabinet. In the construction illustrated, I prefer tohinge or pivot one end of the basket as at 36, to the end wall of thecabinet. The other end ofthe basket is free but is held in raisedposition by means of a spring or resilient foot 38 adapted to beattached to the opposite endwall of the cabinet on the inner sidethereof. Any kind of support may be used which permits the basket toswing upwardly past 4the stop 38 and thence to be supported in theraised position. Obviously, pushing inwardly upon this stop or byarranging a control passing through the wall` and actuated from outsideof the cabinet, the stop may be released or withdrawn from the basket soto permit it to be swung downwardly into the dotted line position whereit may rest upon an inwardly extending ledge 40. In this position it isdirectly opposite a door or closure 42 hinged as util/i tothe outsideofthe cabinet so that by provided for normally urging the basketupwardly into a position-shown in fulllines and I prefer to accomplishthis by Ameans of a spring 46 connected to the top ofthe basket andtothe top of the cabinet.` The foregoing provides a very simplegmeans ofmaintaining the basket in topmost-position while permitting it to beraised and lowered. It will be evident that ample room is provided forthe raising,r and lowering of the basket and ample room is provided. atthetop of the cabinet for forming a sort of gas collecting chamber inwhich thebasket is normally. suspended. Itwill be born in mind that; theammonia gas will rise to the topof thecabinetand will collect there sothat it is important that the paper to be developed shouldjbe suspendedin thisl gaseous zone and it isals. manifest that by my presentarrangement o fnarranging the door 42 well below this gaseous zone, whenthe door is opened, the.- main body of the gas will not be permittedtoiescape.. If desired, the door may be considerably smaller than thatshown in the drawing; Y, y

Manifestly in this inventlonfother arrangements of the basketlcontrohthat is, the.

Having thus described my invention, what roo I claim as new and desire`to secure by Letv ters Patent is: Y 1

1. In a developing apparatus for-light ysensitive material adapted to',be developed by the action of chemically active gases, the combinationof a main frame formed to provide a developingstatiori or housing, acontainer in said station adapted to hold a quantity of material adaptedto evolve developing gas, said housing providing a gas retaining chamberlocated adjacent the pan, a support for holding light sensitivematerial, said chamber having an opening provided with a ldoorconsiderably below its top, said support being mounted in saidchamberand arranged to be raised and lowered from a position in the topyof said chamber to a position opposite said n in the plane of the topof said pan to open a gas collecting chamber, an opening in saidy cainet, a closure therefor, said opening being'disposed below said vgascollecting chamber and a work holder mounted in said cabinet andshiftable from a position opposite said door to a position at the top ofsaid abinet and in the said'gas collecting cham- 3. In a device of theclass described, the combination of an enclosing cabinet, a pan in saidcabinet, said pan holding liquid adapted to give off chemically activegas, said cabinet forming above said pan a chamber in which said gascollects, said cabinet having an opening for the insertion of lightsensitive material into the chamber a work holder in `said cabinet andarranged to hold light sensitive material to be developed by said gas,said work holder being shiftably mounted in said cabinet from loadingposition opposite said'opening to a remote developing position withinthe cabinet, means to so shiftA the holder and a closing means for saidcontainer shiftable substantially in the plane of the top of thecontainer, and means for op cratin said closing means from the outsideof the ca inet.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of an enclosingcabinet, a container therein for holding liquid adapted to give oichemically active developing gas, said container being open at its topto permit the escape of the gas therefrom, 'rollers disposed oppositethe ends of the container, a flexible closing member overlying the topof the container and having perforate and imperforate portions, saidmember being wound at its opposite end upon said rollers and means forturning the rollers to shift said closing member relative to the to ofsaid container for opening and closing t e latter to control the' escapeof the gas thereform, and. means in said cabinet for supporting lightsensitive material therein.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of an enclosinghousing, a container for developin fumes having an opening thereinarrange in the housing, a shaft at each end of the container and aflexible closing member overlying the opening of the container andadapted to seal the container 4against the escape of developing fumeswhen in one position, said member having one end connected to one shaftand its opposite end connected to the other shaft, and means foractuating said shafts so as to shift the closing member to a second fumereleasing position by Winding same upon one shaft while simultaneouslyunwinding it from the other shaft, and vice versa. i

6."In a device of the class described, the

combination of an enclosing casin a container therein for holding li uida apted to give off chemically active eveloping gas, means in saidcabinet for supporting light sensitive material therein, said pan havina perforated top, a roller disposed in the ca inet adjacent a side ofthe pan and a flexible closing member having a perforated portion and animperforate portion and wound upon said roller and means for turnin theroller to permit said closing member to s ift whereby to open and closethe top of the pan.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a cabinet, apan therein for holding liquid ammonia, said pan having a top formedwith perforations, a exible closing member adapted to shift across thetop of said pan, said closing band having an imperforateV portion of alength sulicient to close the openings in the top of the pan, and aperforated portion, the perforations of which are adapted to registerwith the perforations in the top of the pan to permit the gas-to risetherethrough and means operative from thel outside of the cabinet foractuating said closing member.

8. In -a deviceof the class described, the combination of a cabinet, arelatively shallow pan mounted in the bottom of said cabinet and havingan open top, a lat sheet-like member adaptedto move across the top ofsaid pan to close the same, means actuated from the outside of saidcabinet for moving said closing member, and a work holding basketshiftably mounted in said cabinet and movable from a lowered positionimmediately above said closing member to a raised position at the top ofsaid cabinet and a spring normally urging said basket to raisedposition, and a releasable catch for holding said basket in raisedposition.

9. In a device of the class described, th combination of an enclosingcasing, a container in the bottom of said casing for holding liquidadapted to evolve chemically active developing gases, means for closingsaid container, a door for said cabinet, a ledge opposite said door, aWork holding basket of open construction hingedly mounted at one end ofthe'casing adjacent the top thereof, a releasable support for holdingsaid basket in raised position, a spring normally urging said basket tosuch raised position and a latch opposite the` door adapted to supportthe free end of said basket when lowered.

10. In a device of the class described, the combination of a cabinethaving a door, a latch opposite the door, a basket of open constructionhavinga pivotal connection to that wall of the cabinet opposite the doorand at a point above the door whereby when the basket is lowered, thefree end of the basket will rest on the latch at the door and atinclined position, a spring adapted to urge the basket to raisedposition and a releasable def ing tent for holding the basket in thisposition,

and means within the cabinet for introducing the developing gasthereinto.

11. In a device of the class described, the

combination of an enclosing cabinet, a support for light sensitivematerial therein, a. door for said cabinet, a pan in said cabinet forholding liquid adapted to give off chemically active developing gas, ashaft at each end of the pan, a gear on each shaft, a driving connectionbetween said gears, means on the outside of the cabinet for operatingone of said shafts, and a pan sealing shutter connected to said shaftsand adapted to be shifted by the operation of said shafts from pansealing to pan unsealing position.

12. In adevice of the class described, the

combination of an enclosing cabinet, means for supporting lightsensitive material therein, a relatively shallow pan at the bottom ofsaid cabinet, a shaft at each end of the pan, a gear on each shaft, asprocket chain interconnecting the gears, a handle on` one shaft mountedon the outside of the cabinet, a band of non-corrosive flexible materialhaving one end fastened to one shaft and the opposite end fastened tothe other shaft, said band beof suicient length so as to wind upon oneshaft while unwinding from thed other shaft, said band having perforateand imperforate ortions for closing the top of the pan where y tocontrol the escape of the developing gas.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.l

ADOLPH LANGSNER.

